RCS comment on publication of South Wales cardiac surgery report

A spokesperson for the Royal College of Surgeons said:

‘The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) yesterday published three reports into cardiac surgery in South Wales. The ‘Cardiac Surgery Summary Paper’ states that 99 patients died while on a waiting list for cardiac surgery over the past five years. This confirms our concern that people were dying while waiting for cardiac surgery in South Wales.

‘We believe that Health Inspectorate Wales, working closely with the professions, should review cardiac surgery services in South Wales. Although the report notes that the ‘outcomes of the South Wales centres are excellent’ for those patients who received surgery, we remain concerned about patients’ access to treatment.

‘The report outlines plans to outsource surgery in the short-term to bring down waiting times, which we welcome. This is critical as there has been an increase in the number of patients waiting longer than 26 weeks for cardiac surgery over the past year.

‘We would like to work with NHS leaders to see the long term plan to increase capacity for cardiac surgery in South Wales developed as soon as possible, helping deliver high quality care for patients where and when they require it.’

For more information, see the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) reports.

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact the RCS press office on:

• 020 7869 6047/ 6052
• communications@rcseng.ac.uk
• Out-of-hours: 07966 486 832
• The Royal College of Surgeons of England is committed to enabling surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. Registered charity number: 212808